“Who is it?” Zhang Xuan suddenly felt all his hair stand on end.
For the other party to get into his mind without his noticing it… Who could it be?
He quickly turned his attention to the area where the voice came from, and a pitch-black tunnel appeared before him. It seemed to extend on and on, leading into a dark abyss.
The bone-chilling voice spoke once more. “Come over!”
Following which, Zhang Xuan felt his consciousness falter, and by the time he came to, he was already standing right before the tunnel.
To think that he would be completely helpless before the other party’s strength!
“Who in the world are you?” Zhang Xuan asked with an awful complexion as he swiftly scanned his surroundings. It did not take him long to realize that there was a massive eye right before him.
The gaze of the massive eye was deeply unnerving. It seemed to peer right into the depths of one’s mind, intensifying whatever dark thoughts one had.
“No wonder you were able to land my subordinate in such a pitiful state…” A cold sneer echoed from the massive eye. “A Celestial Master Teacher, huh? It has been many years since Kong shi, so it’s about time another one appeared.”
“You can tell?” Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in alarm as he felt tension clutch his heart.
Even a Saint 7-dan expert like Luo Chengxin was unable to see through his identity, and yet, the fellow before him was able to tell with just a single glance. Just how powerful could the other party be?
The eye harrumphed coldly. “If I could not even tell this much, the years I spent fighting against Kong shi would have really been wasted!”
“Years spent fighting against Kong shi? You are… Vicious?” Zhang Xuan asked with a deep frown.
Previously, the Vicious that he had sealed within his Book of Heaven’s Path had already told him that the secret art to nabbing souls had been created by him, and that it was highly likely that there was another body part of Vicious in the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows. But who would have thought that the other party would appear here!
In the form of a massive eye at that!
“You have heard of my name?” the eye asked curiously. “Well, that is to be expected. I managed to trap Kong shi within Chen-Cai, nearly killing him. Even if you master teachers wish to preserve Kong shi’s honor, there will inevitably be some records of me!”
“Trap Kong shi?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.
Due to the tremendous damage he had suffered prior to his death, the memory of the Vicious that he had sealed within his Book of Heaven’s Path was fragmented. As a result, that Vicious had remembered very few details concerning Kong shi.
On the other hand, the Vicious before him seemed to know much more.
While he did not have as deep respect for Kong shi as compared to the other master teachers, he had always known the latter to be an invincible existence on the Master Teacher Continent. Yet, for Vicious to have successfully trapped Kong shi in Chen-Cai and nearly killed the latter… just how powerful could Vicious have been at his peak?
“Hmm? It seems like you are unaware of that. Well, it does not matter anyway. If I devour a Celestial Master Teacher, I should be able to recover a significant portion of my strength. With that, I will be able to struggle free of my restraints and become a free man once more!” A sharp glint emerged in the massive eye as Vicious’ voice sounded with a tinge of excitement in it.
“For that, you will have no choice but to die!”
Hu!
Right after those words were spoken, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt an incomparably powerful suction force pulling him in from the depths of the tunnel, forcefully dragging his soul in.
Sh*t… This is the soul nabbing secret art? Zhang Xuan’s face immediately turned incredibly awful.
He had nearly succumbed to the soul nabbing secret art when it was executed by the Qingtian Emperor, and now that it was being executed by Vicious himself, the creator of the technique, how could he possibly stand a chance?
Watching as his soul was being dragged toward the tunnel, goosebumps rose all over Zhang Xuan’s arms.
As expected of the individual who had once fought toe-to-toe with Kong shi! Even if Vicious retained no more than a small fragment of the strength he possessed earlier, it was still not something that he could withstand.
There was simply too huge a difference between them!
At this rate, it’s just a matter of time before I get swallowed whole!
Even though he had no idea what was at the end of the tunnel, his instincts told him that he would be doomed if he was pulled over to the other side.
Thus, clenching his jaws, he drove his soul energy to the maximum and firmly persevered on. At the same time, he discreetly established a telepathic connection with the Book of Heaven’s Path and asked Vicious about the current situation.
“If I’m not mistaken, that should be my head and my eye,” Vicious quickly replied.
“Do you have any idea how I can deal with this?” Zhang Xuan asked anxiously
“As powerful as the soul nabbing secret art is, its effectiveness is limited across vast distances. In such circumstances, a medium may be required. For example, the Qingtian Emperor only managed to faze you through amplifying the prowess of the secret art through the altar.
“Well, back when I was at my peak, I was able to kill any Saint 2-dan cultivator easily as long as they were within a million li1 from me, but given the current state that I am in… there’s a high chance that the other party is using some kind of medium as well. As long as you destroy the medium, the soul nabbing secret art should be undone!” Vicious quickly explained.
Back when he was at his peak, as long as he had a droplet of the other party’s blood to trace the other party down, he would have been able to easily kill a Saint 2-dan expert even from a million li away. However, with his body parts scattered around the continent, he was currently nothing more than a shadow of his former self. Even if the other Vicious had recovered to a greater degree than him, it still should not have been possible for the other party to cast the soul nabbing secret art over a great distance.
The only possibility was that the other Vicious, just like the previous Qingtian Emperor, was using something nearby as a medium for his technique!
A medium? Wait a moment… Hearing those words, a thought streaked across Zhang Xuan’s mind. The Qingtian Emperor’s soul!
Considering that it was just a moment ago that the Qingtian Emperor’s soul had entered his body before the other Vicious’ abrupt emergence, it was very likely that the medium was the Qingtian Emperor’s soul!
It seems like that fellow still has a breath left in him. Humph, let me see where you are hiding! With a direction in mind, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. While pushing his soul energy to his limit to fend off the suction force, he extended his Spiritual Perception throughout his entire body to find the hiding Qingtian Emperor.
Found you!
It took just a moment for Zhang Xuan to notice a fragmented soul hiding in a corner of his mind.
When uncontrolled, the Heaven’s Path zhenqi could circulate through his entire body, but it could not reach his mind. It seemed like the sharp-witted Qingtian Emperor had swiftly noticed this and dived for his mind, thus surviving the ordeal.
Humph! Zhang Xuan swiftly drew his Heaven’s Path zhenqi toward his mind to destroy the remnants of the Qingtian Emperor’s soul.
“Ahhh!”
Amidst the Qingtian Emperor’s cry of agony, Zhang Xuan felt the suction force growing weaker and weaker. At the same time, the massive eye also began to fade from existence along with the tunnel.
“You noticed it? Well, it matters not. You might have survived this time around, but I’ll eventually get you…” With a menacing bellow, the massive eye vanished with a resounding ‘hu!’
Zhang Xuan’s surroundings abruptly morphed, and in the next moment, he found that he was still standing in the underground chamber, as if nothing had happened at all. However, the cold sweat that he was drenched in reminded him of how close he had come to death.
In just an instant, the other Vicious had successfully put him in a trance and nearly devoured him whole.
That was a close one! Even though he was finally out of danger, Zhang Xuan found that his heart just would not calm down.
It was too scary!
Had he not reacted swiftly, his soul could have been dragged over to the other side!
He might have managed to outwit the Qingtian Emperor, but it would not have been easy for him to do the same to Vicious.
“Master, pardon me for not making a move then. I could not do anything in that situation, or else I would have exposed my existence. Once that fellow knows of my presence, he’ll surely pursue you with even more extreme methods, and that would have just placed you in greater danger!” Vicious explained from the Book of Heaven’s Path.
“I understand.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
The other party was right.
While the Book of Heaven’s Path had limited his Vicious’ activity, the divine aura that shrouded it had concealed his presence as well, preventing the other Vicious from perceiving his existence. However, if his Vicious were to make a move, the other Vicious would surely sense his existence.
Every single independent Vicious was trying to seek and devour the other Viciouses so as to regain his strength. While their side was trying to hunt down the other Viciouses, there was no doubt that the other Viciouses had the same intentions in mind as well.
They were currently still unprepared to deal with the other Vicious, so it would be unwise for them expose themselves.
Furthermore, once the other Vicious learned of the existence of his Vicious, the other Vicious would surely raise his guard, making their chances of overwhelming him very slim.
At the very least, with his Vicious hidden in the shadows, he would have another effective card to play against the other Vicious. This would put them in a more advantageous position.
“How strong is the other party? Are you a match for him?” Zhang Xuan asked.
Vicious hesitated for a moment before replying. “I can’t clearly gauge his current strength, but from the looks of it… he’s is at the Leaving Aperture realm at the very minimum! I am no match for him in my current state. However, if I could devour the Qingtian Emperor’s soul, I should be able to reach Leaving Aperture realm as well!”
“Devour the Qingtian Emperor’s soul?” Zhang Xuan contemplated for a moment before nodding in approval.
Even though the Qingtian Emperor was an Otherworldly Demon, he had inherited the heritage of the soul oracles, and his cultivation had even reached the True Leaving Aperture realm. If Vicious were to consume the Qingtian Emperor’s soul, it would surely benefit him greatly.
“Thank you!” Vicious replied in gratitude.
Zhang Xuan paused for a moment before adding, “Wait a moment first, I wish to interrogate him first. I’ll pass him over to you once I’m done.”
Trapped by the Heaven’s Path zhenqi and grinded down from the earlier clash, the Qingtian Emperor no longer posed any threat to him.
There were still some doubts in his mind that he wanted to clarify with the Qingtian Emperor.
“Principal Zhang…”
While it seemed to have been a lengthy encounter, in truth, only ten seconds had passed since the appearance of the black tunnel. Raising his head, he saw Wu shi looking at him with a worried look.
“I’m fine. Wu shi, I need you to follow me somewhere. Oh right, get your men to move the altar to the Master Teacher Pavilion and hand it over to the envoy from the headquarters once he arrives. That would serve as evidence of the activities of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe here,” Zhang Xuan said.
“Noted!” Wu shi quickly issued some instructions before following Zhang Xuan out of the underground chamber.
Returning to Chen Zhe’s residence, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight and began scanning the area once more. It did not take long before he identified a direction and swiftly began heading in it.
Chen Zhe’s residence was located in the suburbs of Qingyuan City. As such, it did not take long for Zhang Xuan and Wu shi to travel beyond the city walls and into the depths of the mountain forest. Soon, a tattered, wooden hut appeared before their eyes.
Finally arriving at the destination, Zhang Xuan remarked in astonishment, “Here it is… I never thought that the two would be so far away from one another!”
He had thought that the two altars should be in proximity with one another, but who would have thought that there would be a distance of several dozen kilometers between the two? To be able to drag his soul across such distance, Vicious’ secret art was truly fearsome!
Entering the wooden hut, Zhang Xuan swiftly retrieved the storage ring that he had hidden earlier.
“This…”
On the other hand, a look of disbelief surfaced on Wu shi’s face when he noticed that there was an identical altar in the wooden hut as well.
“Take a look at who this is…” Zhang Xuan drove his Heaven’s Path zhenqi to destroy the Soul Imprint of the storage ring before flicking his wrist. A corpse materialized before him.
“Isn’t this… Vice Pavilion Master Tian? Didn’t he explode earlier?” Wu shi was taken aback.
Tian Qing had exploded right before his eyes, and he had sent the other party’s body back to the Master Teacher Pavilion for investigation. How could there be another corpse here?
Furthermore, this body was completely intact, and it commanded an even stronger aura than Vice Pavilion Master Tian’s!
“This is his disguise,” Zhang Xuan said as he flicked his hand over the Qingtian Emperor’s body.
Huala!
The corpse suddenly grew much bulkier, and its height abruptly increased to more than two meters. While there was no significant difference in its facial features, a fearsome killing intent abruptly burst forth from him.
“He’s an Otherworldly Demon?” Wu shi’s eyes narrowed in shock.
“That’s right.” Zhang Xuan nodded. “Not only is he an Otherworldly Demon, he’s the Qingtian Emperor!”
“The Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage?” Wu shi could not believe what he was hearing.
How could Vice Pavilion Master Tian have been an Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage?
If that was true, how could he have failed to notice it despite having known the other party for several centuries?
“It’s like this…” Zhang Xuan swiftly filled Wu shi in on the story.
“This…” Wu shi’s lips quivered in horror.
To think that the Qingtian Emperor would have successfully incarnated his soul and even risen to the position of the vice head of the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion without their notice! This was truly a horrifying oversight on their part!
If this was the case for Qing Tian, how many other master teachers in their Master Teacher Pavilion were Otherworldly Demons in disguise?
Thank you for all the well wishes!
It was a pleasant surprise to see so many people wishing me happy birthday ^‿^
